Random News Generator- Peru

After a false start with Bermuda.

...oh, no. Nonononononono. We are not doing Joran van der Sloot. Screw that story.

Let's instead cover the smelter at La Oroya, known for being so environmentally lax that the town is one of the world's most polluted. The Peruvian government had imposed a deadline of July 15 to comply with various environmental regulations, triggering a strike by the town. La Oroya, despite the crippling levels of sulfur dioxide emitted by the plant, has nothing else going for it, and American-owned company Doe Run is thought to be enticing the workers to persist.

The plan, however, has fallen on deaf ears, as the Peruvian government has respnded by warning that if the plant does not resume operations by July 24, they will shut it down for good. Doe Run had asked for a 20-year moratorium on paying debts and back taxes that amount to $200 million. Peru has said no.

The workers at the plant, which has been shuttered for several months now, have threatened to block a highway, causing Peru to guard the highway with troops so traffic won't be disrupted.

Where would the workers go if the plant was shut down? Peru's minister of energy and mines, Pedro Sanchez, has stated that the workers could easily disperse to other mines in the area. Without knowing the area, though, I can't tell whether that's true or not.

Here's a video about it from 2006- really, any year is about as good as any other when bringing this one up: